The situation in college basketball right now looks grim. It's not because of lack of talent because, if anything, that has improved over the years. And it's not because of bad coaching, because most college basketball coaches are on notice that if they make even one minor mistake, they are gone. Rather, it has to do with the recent tendency towards dishonesty among athletes. This trend is no more present anywhere than it is in Connecticut.

In recent months, there have been two separate allegations of UCONN basketball players being loaned cars. In the case of guard Kahlid El-Amin, it was from a car dealership in exchange for complimentary tickets, and in the situation of center Jake Voskuhl, it was a case of "borrowing from a friend." Now normally, it's ok to borrow your buddy's car, but not in the NCAA rulebook. This action in any form is considered bribery.

Voskuhl got off the hook on a technicality by simply paying this person for use of the car, but his teammate faces stiffer penalties because he got the car in exchange for tickets to home games. Incidents like this happen every day in college sports, especially basketball, and most of the time, the people involved don't get caught, but just because a person doesn't get caught breaking a rule doesn't make it right.

So, what should be done to curb dishonest acts? Well, obviously bribery in any form at any level of education is unacceptable, but when schools don't find out about it or choose to ignore it, that is a big deal. Not condoning this behavior is the first step in solving the problem. Suspending players from the team or the school might help them realize what a big mistake they have made, even if the offense is minor, such as borrowing a friend's car. Ignoring dishonest acts at a younger age only leads to greater offenses later in life, because the kids think it is ok to do.

This is especially common in pro basketball, where a question about dishonesty among NBA players is raised every once in a while. Even the referees got caught last year for trading in first class plane tickets for coach and pocketing the difference. What kind of example does this set for college athletes if they see their favorite pro star, or even their favorite referee being dishonest? Not a good one at all.

Will college basketball players who are dishonest now continue this trend in the future? Probably. That's why it's so important to punish them now in a way that they will remember so that they will always think back on it when faced with the decision whether or not to be honest in the future. It may not work, but it's worth a shot.